CALGARY - Two downtown properties near The Bow tower project, either owned or jointly-owned by Calgary energy giant Encana, are on the market for sale, the Herald has learned.

The 18,000-square-foot Le Rocc building at 149 5th Ave. S.E., which Encana has owned since January 2007, is listed for sale by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. It is being sold by bid submission.

Also for sale is the former 19,000-square-foot CUPS building, at 128 7th Ave. S.E., which Encana jointly owns with Cenovus. The list price for that building is $3.4 million. The building has been owned by the companies since January 2009.

“The reason for putting them on the market is that they are not core to our business. We are in the energy business, not the downtown real estate business, so we do not see a need to carry these properties in our portfolio at this time,” said Doug McIntyre, spokesman for Encana.

“The CUPS and Le Rocc buildings were acquired in connection with The Bow project and not for the purposes of any other development.”

Although speculation in the real estate industry is that the Encana Place tower on 9th Avenue S.W. might also be on the block in the future, McIntyre said: “Encana Place is not on the market and currently there are no plans in place to put it there.”

Patricia Doherty, Cenovus Media Analyst, said of the CUPS building that “since real estate is not our core business the property is currently marketed for sale.”

H&R Real Estate Investment Trust owns the 58-storey, 1.7 million-square-foot Bow tower which is home to both Encana and Cenovus.

In the fall, Encana announced it was cutting its workforce by about 20 per cent or about 1,000 jobs.

Susan Thompson, business development manager of real estate for Calgary Economic Development, said the two properties are in prime locations in Calgary’s downtown.

“They’re fairly central buildings within Calgary. That’s always going to be desirable to somebody whether it’s for redevelopment, for investment purposes, or to occupy as a tenant,” said Thompson.

Meanwhile, a report released Wednesday by RealNet Canada said the Greater Calgary Area commercial real estate market saw investment activity of 396 transactions over $1 million in 2013, representing a dollar volume of $3.2 billion. It was the fifth best year on record despite a 33 per cent decrease in annual investment from 2012.

The report said fewer high profile deals returned the market to levels consistent with the steady market growth since 2009.

It said 2012 marked a record year for deals of $25 million or more with 44 transactions which accounted for 65 per cent of all capital flows. In 2013, there were only 22 deals in that price range.

The office market saw seven transactions in 2013 at $25 million or more compared with 14 in 2012.

“The effect of high profile trades in the GCA market has always been obvious,” said Paul Richter, director of research at RealNet Canada. “A return to average activity in the $25 million plus threshold reveals a stable and moderate growth patter in the Greater Calgary market.”

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